A new article from NASFAA - Eight Steps to Winning a Scholarship

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This great article really jumped out at me today.

Eight Steps to Winning a Scholarship. 

This article is by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. They list eight great ways to get a scholarship. They are: (their words in bold italic):
 #1: Consult your Financial Aid office. This is a great idea, because they often know of local aid and scholarships, which are easier to get.
#2. Contact your academic department. They can know of other aid packages or where to point to others. (I had not thought of this - - it is a great idea).
#3. Use a free scholarship search engine. You can find some suggestions on the Nontrads Scholarships
Page here: http://www.nontradstudents.com/scholarships.html. The best sites I have found include the Fastweb search pages and the Broke Scholar search site.
#4. Don't assume: you still may be able to get a scholarship if you don't have straight A's. The article suggests you look for aid in your personal areas of interest or hobbies.
#5. Write that essay... the places that require essays have less competition, according to the article. It helps to practice, too.
#6. Stack up the small scholarships... many small scholarships can really add up. Don't overlook a scholarship just because it is small.
#7. Apply early - this applies to everyone. The article goes on to say that people applying in high school can always re-apply the next year.
#8. Don't get scammed... the article warns of sites that charge you in order to give you tips or scholarship aid. Watch out for scammy sites and protect yourself by using sites that do not charge you.
I would add at least one more tip - - fill out your FAFSA first! (the official site is here.)
Also: you can look for more scholarship links at the NT Scholarship pages: page one and page two.
Good luck!
Read more here:
8 Steps to Winning A Scholarship
-Betsyanne 
Image via Wikipedia.

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Official U.S. scholarship and grant sites

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Image via Wikipedia - the Federal Aviation Administration Headquarters

You can trust the U.S.government blogs and websites that give information about scholarships and grants. Here are some of them:

Students.gov - the Student Gateway to the U.S. Government
This site has information about military service, career development, and how to plan and pay for your education. Check it out here: http://www.students.gov/. This site also has links to all kinds of other government sites.

FAFSA - the official site. Don't be lured in by sites that offer to help you (in return for payment, of course). This site is the REAL FAFSA site. http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/.

Here is a new site, the College Preparation List. Here is the Adult Student version: http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/checklist/AdultStudents.html. There is a link here on how to get your GED and also a link to find a college that matches your interests.

The Federal Aviation Administration site - - scholarships page. This page has links to Aviation and Minority scholarships, plus more. Here is the page: http://www.faa.gov/education/student_resources/scholarships_grants/.

And here is another one I have never seen until today: Disability.gov. The site is here:  http://www.disability.gov/education. You can look up topics like benefits, civil rights, and education here. Under Education, I found a separate page on scholarships. Here is that page: http://www.disability.gov/education/financial_aid/scholarships.

Have another government page you would like to add to this list? Add it as a comment. Are you looking for a scholarship or grant? What works for you?

-Betsyanne

Find more scholarships at the Nontrads site - Scholarships links page one and Scholarship links page two. These are all free links and sites.

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Squidoo and scholarship links

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Image via Wikipedia - would you wear these contact lenses? Just wondering.

Ok. Back to the subject. 

Here are three pretty good Squidoo scholarship link lenses.

I have been busy with Squidoo lately. I build lenses, I comment on other people's lenses, I check my numbers, I so assignments for RocketMoms, and more.

Today I searched for the term "scholarships" here for the first time, and voila! I found some good lenses written to help people looking for scholarships of all kinds.

I am sharing the best ones here with you.

#1. Scholarships for Women http://www.squidoo.com/scholarshipsforwomen. This lens includes a poll you can vote in, plus hints on how to best apply for scholarships.

#2. Top Ten College Advice, Funding and Planning Websites. http://www.squidoo.com/collegewebsites. The other title to this lens is Where to go for College Test Prep, Admissions Advice, and Financial Aid. I do like this lens.

#3. Teacher Student Loan Cancellation - http://www.squidoo.com/teacher_student_loan_cancellation. This site explains just how you can qualify for this Federal program. It also tells teachers and future teachers which schools are officially classified as Low-Income schools.

The websites here are quality ones with .edu or .org in many of the names. There are some here I want to put on the Nontrad Site as good links to explore. I think you will like these lenses too.

All for now!
-Betsyanne

My Squidoo pages - and Join Squidoo with my referral: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/referral/lizziebeth

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Some more great scholarship links June 2010

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Have some time? Search for a scholarship.

Here are some more sites that you might like. They have articles, videos, and more scholarship sites to add to your scholarship site list and folder.

I hope you do have a filing area now, and a folder. You can find out more about organizing your scholarship search here:
Get Organized about your Scholarship Search

Here are the new sites you can look at. Let me know if this help you.
#1: The EHow Featured Scholarship Search Articles. http://www.ehow.com/find-scholarships/. This site has many articles and also videos to help you in your scholarship search. Some are: How to find Musical Scholarships, Finding Scholarships for Blacks, and how to find Drama Scholarships.

#2: The IEFA Site - http://www.iefa.org/. this abbreviation stands for the International Financial Aid and College Scholarship Search page. They help US students and international students find aid for studying abroad.

And here is another great site. It is the College Board site. This page, http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/scholarships-and-aid/8936.html tells about how to develop a strategy for finding money for school.

More articles you may like:

More links for your scholarship arsenal
Real stories about real people - and how they got their scholarships
and
How an advisor can help you find money for school

Good luck in your scholarship search!


-Betsyanne

The Nontraditional Student website and blog

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Add these new links to your scholarship search arsenal!

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Image via Wikipedia

More Great Scholarship Link Pages

I found even more scholarship links today, some in surprising places! I have not tested these links or have much information on them, but they are new and different. I think they would be definitely worth a look.

Here is a short list:

#1: The Scholarship Link List from DormBuys.com. This link list includes the United Negro College Fund site and IEFA.org, which stands for International Education Financial Aid. Here is that link:
http://www.dormbuys.com/scholarships

#2: Here is the College at Brockport's list. It includes some other new sites, such as Adventures in Education, Club Scholarship, and  the International Scholarships Database. Let me know which ones you try out and like. The site is here:
http://www.brockport.edu/scholarships/links/search.html

#3:  The Scholarship America site - this is a .org site, which is usually a good sign (a nonprofit site). Some new links here include the College Goal Sunday site, AidScholar, Edvisors, and Students.gov.

I like these new resources!

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More Stories from Real People - How they got their scholarships

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Some real people and how they got their scholarships.

#1. The first story I found today was that of klmagpayo. She has a Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/klmagpayo, and a Hubpage story about her Scholarship journey. Klmagpayo worked very hard, but then was turned down for a scholarship. It was then she went on to try even harder and had a very tight deadline for another scholarship. You can read her story here:
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-I-got-my-scholarship. Klmagpayo lives in Berlin, Germany.

#2. Here are 10 stories about scholarship winners. They are "10 Beautiful, Smart Celebrities who Got a Scholarship to College." http://www.online-college-blog.com/index.php/uncategorized/10-beautiful-smart-celebrities-who-got-a-scholarship-to-college/

#3. And here is the story of a bicyclist who won a $1,000 scholarship from the League of American Bicyclists. The money is to be used to attend the National Bike Summit. Here is that link:
http://commutebybike.com/2009/01/28/hey-ma-i-won-a-scholarship/

Have YOU won a scholarship? This blog would love to print your story. Send it to me or list your link below. Good luck, everyone who is applying for scholarships right now.

All for now,
-Betsyanne

PS You can find scholarship links (free ones) at my Nontrad Site here:
http://www.nontradstudents.com/scholarships.html
and here:
http://www.nontradstudents.com/scholarships_page2.html

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A great page at the FinAid site - what are the odds of winning different kinds of scholarships?

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Here is a link you will like.

It's from the FinAid site. This page answers some questions. For instance, it explains that the odds of winning a scholarship depends on how competitive they are. The most competitive awards have about a 1 in 400 chance. But (on the hopeful side) the less competitive ones have a 1 in 10 chance of you winning it.

The FinAid site goes on to explain why some scholarships are offered, and what you need in order to qualify for them. You can sign up on this page to see if you match with the scholarships they have listed. This is a totally free service.

Also, this page (at the bottom) also has links to these pages:

Searching for Scholarships

Getting Organized

Advance Preparation

Essays

Letters of Recommendation

Interviews 

Here is the main page of the FinAid site. It's one of my very favorite scholarship search sites.
http://www.finaid.org/


-Betsyanne

You can find other scholarship links at the Nontrad site here:
http://www.nontradstudents.com/scholarships.html

and here:
http://www.nontradstudents.com/scholarships_page2.html

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